Awakening
by Kyarorain
Summary: When Alchemy was released, a lost, forgotten race rose back to the surface, thinking only of revenge against humankind, to remove humans from the face of Weyard.
1. A Lost Race

**Awakening**

Yes, I am starting a new fanfic. I rock. I had this idea and I decided to have a story with elves on Weyard. Yes, I hear the alarm bells going off. No need to panic! There is a short sword in Bilibin Cave, called an Elven Rapier. There is also a shirt in the Mogall Forest called an Elven shirt. Where could they have gotten their names from, if not elves? I have my own design for the Weyard elves, and I can assure you, they are NOT pretty-haired Legolas wannabes.

Camelot owns Golden Sun.

* * *

_Chapter One: A Lost Race_

* * *

In aeons past, dating around the beginning of the first Golden Age of Weyard, it was a lush world, full of peace, thriving with civilizations. Psynergy was recognized, and there were four clans dedicated to the elements, who would not decline for a very long time.

It was not just humans and their pets that walked the beautiful surface of Weyard. Many other species roamed the lands, the majority of them now extinct or obscure to the point where they were forgotten about.

When the wars started to wreak havoc on Weyard, many of these now forgotten species were wiped out from existence, killed by the humans, trampled underfoot in the face of war. Human was seeking to claim the power of Alchemy for themselves, and they would cut anything down.

While many clans are remembered as a fond memory, particularly the Elemental clans; save for the Venus Clan that was wiped out years before but saved by the knowledge that it must have existed in conjunction with Anemos, Prox and Imil, one was forgotten.

Aenal, home to the Elves. They easily passed for young children, and humans loved to watch them flitting around in the sky, the wings on their back flitting so fast they practically disappeared. If an elf covered up his pointed ears and withdrew his wings, like elves had the capability to do so, then he could easily pass for a ten-year-old human.

Until the war began, humans and Elves lived side by side in peace. Elves were admired for their magic, but no matter what their magic could do, nothing compared to the wonders of Psynergy, and sadly enough, Alchemy.

The Elves fought valiantly against the humans, devastated at what they were doing to them, but their magic was useless against the torrent of Psynergy, the bloodlust, the weapons bringing death, and it was inevitable that Aenal fell.

Just before the troops could come bearing down on her, the Elven Queen, Synthabel, cast a spell that cast all the elves including her into the centre of Weyard, trapping them in a deep sleep. The Elves were sealed away inside Weyard, and over time, they were forgotten and they became just a myth. Little things were left lying around, that should have provoked a memory but failed to do so because it had been far too long, like the short sword one elf had used, trying to save his wife, or the shirt that another elf loved so much.

Aenal was razed to the ground and eventually another town was built upon it, and that too was forgotten.

They were lost from Weyard...

Alchemy was sealed away.

It was not until Alchemy was released once more and the second Golden Age began, that the events set in motion. The spell started to wear away, and less than a year after the Mars Lighthouse was lit...

The first elves began to awaken.


	2. Seizure

**Awakening**

* * *

This story's going to be a little short, but that shouldn't make it any less interesting. It's going to be mostly action-oriented, and nobody wants ten chapters of people running around and getting their butts kicked.

* * *

_Chapter Two: Seizure_

* * *

"Your Majesty… this world is so different from how we remember it. Aenal is no more. Nobody remembers us."

"That is just as well," The silver-haired woman, with the appearance of a child with pointed ears, turned to the two elves behind her. They all sported wings sprouting from their backs and lithe, elongated limbs. "They tried to cut us down before. We are returning, but the world must be made safe for us. That means no humans."

"No humans," the male nodded, glancing at the female next to him. "I remember too well how one cleaved my closest aide apart with an axe. Too long have I thirsted to avenge him. Human blood, I will spill over the lands, and I will laugh in mockery of the life they had and lost."

"We will destroy the humans, as Brother says," the female smiled, her eyes glittering wickedly. "But… the world may have a protector."

"Yes. I know." The queen bowed her head. "He is called the Wise One. He is old and wise, as his name implies. However, he will be taken by surprise, and weak to our attack. We can take control of him easily. He will not be a threat. What we also need is an Adept, and Alchemy… it is because of Alchemy we were allowed to return, and we must have it. I trust you two the most, and I know that you are capable of carrying out the task. Linza, go to find the Wise One and take control of his mind. Luchan, find me an Adept."

"Yes, Queen Synthabel," the siblings chorused. "We will do as you say."

"Excellent," Synthabel smirked. "Go now." She watched, pleased, as the elves immediately flew away, watched by many others of their kind. There were not as many elves as there used to be, but there should be enough for a revolution, ridding Weyard of those filthy, pathetic humans.

* * *

The Wise One hovered around the perimeter of New Vale, content to see that there were no disturbances in the village. Vale had been through enough in the past. Now they were enjoying their peace and being with each other. Isaac seemed to have taken to the girl, Mia, they were rarely ever seen apart. Despite having a new home in Contigo, Ivan was still sticking around, although he was getting set to leave soon. Piers was still deliberating over whether to try returning to Lemuria or not, and Sheba was content to stay, still reluctant to return to Lalivero any time soon.

The Wise One was only mildly startled when Alex warped in out of nowhere and headed towards the shop. He had survived the Mt. Aleph incident, and the Wise One had been very cautious, but it seemed he had learned the error of his ways. That didn't mean Mia trusted him again though, she still threw nasty looks at him whenever she saw him. The Wise One was not sure why Alex continued to hang around Vale, but had not taken the chance to ask him. He was still rather paranoid of Vale's protector. The Wise One was just glad to see Alex wasn't abusing his power.

The Wise One took one last look at the village before floating over to the ruins of old Vale and Mt. Aleph. He lowered himself towards the ground and looked around, his eye revolving rapidly. He sensed another life form in the vicinity. A mere child walked up towards him, a girl who seemed to be around the age of ten. The Wise One relaxed, ready to help the child if she should take a tumble and risk falling down the cracks or anything. Usually, the older people told their children not to go to the ruins, but being children at heart, they still took the liberty to explore.

The child looked up and her reddish-brown eyes bore into his single eye. Too late, the Wise One realized she had pointed ears and wings sprouting out of her back. He wasted precious time remembering the time of the first Golden Age, when now extinct species roamed, including the lost race of Elves. An elf!

Having been caught off guard, the Wise One was unable to prevent himself from being mesmerized, his mind held fast by the vindictive elf girl.

"Wise One," Linza intoned. "You will obey my command."

"I will obey."

Linza paused to explore his mind, finding the information that she needed. "Get the Adepts, Alex and Isaac, and take Alchemy away from them."

"I will." The Wise One complied, floating towards Vale.

* * *

Ivan stepped outside the village, whistling a tune. He skipped along the path, stopping only to swing his staff and knock aside a Vermin. The Vermin shrilled angrily and lunged at Ivan. The Jupiter Adept sighed and cast Plasma. The Vermin shrilled again before being disintegrated into dust. Ivan looked up and noticed a young boy, younger than he was, coming his way.

"Hello?" Ivan wondered if the boy was from Vault, What was he doing out alone? And what were those things on his back? Surely not wings?

"Adept," Luchan stared directly into his eyes. Ivan gasped as his limbs snapped together and he found himself paralysed. "You will be the vessel. Go to sleep."

Ivan tried to resist the numbing waves flowing over his body, tried to keep his eyes open. His eyelids felt like lead. He couldn't go to sleep… he blinked once… twice… three times… and then he slipped and fell asleep, slumping to the ground. Luchan smiled and walked over, picking Ivan up and heaving him over his shoulder, flying towards the ruins.


	3. Possessed

**Awakening**

* * *

See, I'm being real nice, I'm getting this up quickly to make up for short chapters. It's a pretty fast-paced story. Sorry about that, but the plot isn't a complex one by any means. It's just a quickie for fun. Yes, a story which will have an average of eight chapters at my best guess is a quickie. I'm weird like that.

* * *

_Chapter Three: Possessed_

* * *

Isaac lay on his bed, laboriously scribbling in a notebook. His tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he worked away, his loopy handwriting fast covering the yellowed pages. Mia had commented once on how funny he looked with his tongue sticking out of his mouth, but he really didn't realize he was doing it.

"Hmm…" Isaac put the pencil down and looked pensively at his notes. He wasn't sure why he was writing all this, but it was important to preserve knowledge for future generations, so he might as well. Kraden had loads of books, but who knew if they would all still be around in the future? Perhaps someone might find his own little notebook and it would be a revelation.

Isaac shifted into a sitting position and reached over to put the notebook on his bedside table. He was starting to get a little peckish. Maybe he should go downstairs to get a snack. Lunch wasn't for a while yet. Mia was downstairs as well with his mother. Apparently, they were going to knit some garments for the coming winter, but Isaac had the horrible feeling they would discuss him as well.

A bright flash of light caught Isaac's attention and he let out a cry of surprise as the Wise One appeared in his room.

"Wise One?" Isaac got off the bed, surprised to see the Wise One here. "What is it?"

"There is something I have not yet told you," The Wise One spoke. Isaac felt a small feeling of dread creeping down his spine. "Alex did not receive the full power of Alchemy upon Mt. Aleph. You received a very small portion, from the Mars Star."

"Really…" Isaac frowned. Why was the Wise One telling him this now? "But… why are you saying this now? Why didn't you say it before?"

"Because I need it," the Wise One answered. "Do not ask why. Just stand still."

Isaac doubtfully did as the Wise One asked, feeling a slight tingle running upon and down his skin. The Wise One flashed brightly, Psynergetic trails traveling along his form, and Isaac stared in fascination at a trail of golden light running from him to the rocky guardian. In mere seconds it was over and Isaac only felt a little weaker.

"Thank you for your co-operation," The Wise One disappeared.

"That was weird," Isaac muttered. He had a very bad feeling about this. The Wise One had seemed strange. His eye… Isaac's mouth dropped. The Wise One's eye had been red. Of course, it did change colour when the Wise One was casting Psynergy, but it was normally blue as default. And the Wise One had sounded a bit strange. Isaac had just been so caught off-guard, he hadn't had time to realize something was wrong.

"Oh no…" Isaac turned and ran from the room, his heart pounding. Something bad was happening, Isaac was sure of it.

* * *

Alex stepped out of the weapons shop, eyeing his new sword carefully before sheathing it. He had seen better, but then again, the best weapons shops were miles away and it would take a long time to get there just for a new sword.

The Mercurian looked up and started as he saw the Wise One gazing down at him. His eye was red. Deep, blood-red. Surely, it was normally blue? Alex took a step back, unnerved by the sudden appearance of the powerful rock being.

"Wise One?" Alex frowned.

"I must have your power," The Wise One began to flash rapidly.

"What? What do you need it for? Aah!" Alex went rigid as he felt a massive prickling on his skin. A golden trail ran from his body, connecting him to the Wise One. The Valeans stood and watched, interested at this display. Alex wished they would do something and help, but they obviously thought the Wise One was doing something good. There was nothing good about a red-eyed rock taking his power without permission.

"There…" The Wise One closed its eye, satisfied with the power of Alchemy inside it. Alex wearily slumped to the ground, feeling exhausted after having had Alchemy taken out of him like that. "I have Alchemy. Now to return to the Elf."

"…Elf?" Alex mumbled, staring at the spot the Wise One had been in. He was now hovering away towards the ruins.

* * *

"Brother Luchan," Linza greeted him, pleased to see that he had somebody with him. An unconscious blond boy. "An Adept, I see?"

"Yes, an Adept who uses the power of Wind," Luchan dropped the boy onto the ground. "I saw him strike a Vermin down with lightning bolts. Have you seen the Wise One yet?"

"The Wise One is under my control," Linza smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You have done well, sister," Luchan nodded approvingly. "Where is he now?"

"Here he comes," Linza pointed at the rock heading towards them. "Hopefully, he has got Alchemy."

"I have returned," the Wise One announced. "The complete power of Alchemy is ready to be given to whoever wishes it."

"This plan is going very well," Luchan smiled. "Easier than I would have expected."

"Just think… humankind could be wiped out in less than a month," Linza grinned. She aimed a sharp kick at the boy. "Wake up!"

"Unn…" Ivan slowly opened his eyes, feeling grass tickle his face. "What…"

"Get up," A harsh, female voice ordered him. Ivan's eyes widened and he got to his feet, turning to look at the elves.

"Who are you?" Ivan demanded.

"I'm Linza Shyrina, an elf," Linza looking up at the Jupitarian, not at all daunted by the fact she was a couple of inches shorter. "This here is my brother, Luchan Shyrina."

"Elves?" Ivan blinked. "But… elves don't exist!"

"Yes, they do," Luchan said wearily. "Why don't you look behind you to see if there's anybody you recognize?"

"Huh?" Ivan turned and stepped back in surprise. "The Wise One?"

"The Elves were sealed away long ago," The Wise One spoke in a rough, harsh tone. Ivan immediately realized that his voice was all wrong, the sound made him shiver and he disliked it. "By their queen, to save their lives. Humans had turned against them in the wars and cut them down. Now the Elves have returned, thanks to Alchemy being released, and now the Elves will wipe humankind off the face of Weyard."

"No…" Ivan shook his head. "That can't happen. Wise One, aren't you going to stop them?"

"I will not stop them," The Wise One's red eye flared brightly. "And you will be helping us!"

"No!" Ivan yelled, as Linza and Luchan sprang forwards and held him tightly. He struggled against their holds, but they were too strong for him.

* * *

"You saw the Wise One going that way?" Isaac stepped towards the edge of the village, facing the ruins.

"Is something wrong with the Wise One?" Mia asked, as she followed.

"Yeah, and his eye was all red," Garet told him.

"I know, I saw it," Isaac said grimly. "Something is wrong with the Wise One. I'm going to go and check it out."

"Then at least let us come along!" Jenna exclaimed, standing next to Garet. "You can't go by yourself, Isaac!"

"If something is wrong with the Wise One, we're all going to have to know what it is," Felix had the horrible feeling that something was going to happen, and this something would involve some sort of life endangering quest. So what was new?

"They're right," Mia looked at Isaac. "Let us come."

"You don't know what's happening out there," Sheba insisted.

"It's strange enough that the Wise One is doing odd things, isn't it?" Piers guessed. He didn't know the Wise One very well, and to tell the truth, first impressions had not been good, considering the Wise One had summoned a two-headed dragon on them all.

"Okay, come on then," Isaac said wearily. "But be careful. All of you. I'll take the lead."

Isaac headed out of the village at a fast pace, running towards the ruins. The others followed close behind, not willing to let him get too far ahead without them.

* * *

"What are you going to do to me?" Ivan demanded, trying not to look scared, but he felt it inside him. He felt terrified.

"Just watch," Linza hissed.

"And don't move," Luchan said ominously.

"…" Ivan stared at the Wise One, a bead of sweat slowly rolling down his head.

The Wise One flashed and a trail of gold light ran from him towards Ivan, striking him full on the chest. Ivan let out a cry as he felt the power surging into him. It was almost painful and he wanted it to stop. Eventually it did, and Luchan and Linza released him. Ivan staggered backwards, shaking his head.

"What… have you… done to me?" Ivan held his head in his hands.

"He's given you Alchemy," Linza answered, as if it should have been obvious.

"Why?" Ivan stared at the elves incredulously.

"He's not done yet," Luchan leered.

The Wise One flashed and Ivan screamed as a searing pain shot through his head. He fell to his knees, gripping his head tightly and continuing to scream. The Wise One continued to flash repeatedly, bringing forth fresh cries from the tortured Wind Adept.

"Ivan!"

Isaac yelled out as he approached the group. It looked like the Wise One was hurting Ivan. Who were those two children with them? "Unf!" Isaac grunted as he crashed into a barrier that had just sprung up around the small group. "No!"

"A barrier?" Garet pounded on the barrier with one fist. "What's the Wise One doing to Ivan?"

"No… no…" Ivan stumbled to his feet, tears welling up in his eyes. "What are you…"

"You will aid us," The Wise One spoke loudly. "You will help the Elves to destroy humankind. You will use your newly gained power to destroy the humans!"

"No!" Ivan screamed.

"Destroy humans?" Mia whispered, shocked beyond belief.

"Elves?" Jenna raised an eyebrow.

"Destroy the humans!" The Wise One demanded.

"Why does the Wise One want to destroy humankind?" Felix stared in disbelief at the guardian.

"It must be those… are they elves?" Piers regarded the children. "Those are not ordinary children. They have pointed ears and wings."

"But… elves don't exist, do they?" Sheba asked.

"Apparently they do now," Felix said gloomily. "And the Wise One is trying to turn Ivan towards the Elves' side!"

"The Elves must have got the Wise One under their control!" Garet exclaimed.

"Destroy… humankind…" Ivan shook his head, tears flying everywhere. "NO!"

"Pull yourself together, Ivan!" Isaac cried. "Don't give in!"

"Destroy!" The Wise One flashed.

"NO!" Tears trickled freely down Ivan's face and he slowly looked up at his friends. "Destroy…"

"What on Weyard is going on?" Alex demanded, warping in behind Isaac and the others. He was still somewhat tired from having lost so much power so fast.

"For some strange reason, Elves exist," Jenna pointed at what had seemed like normal children. "And we're guessing that they are controlling the Wise One. And the Wise One is taking control of Ivan!"

"Destroy humankind," Ivan intoned, his entire body shaking rigidly. "Destroy them all for the Elves. Use Alchemy."

"Alchemy?" Alex hissed. "The Wise One took the power to give to Ivan?"

"IVAN!" Mia wailed. "Don't give in!"

"The Wise One took your power?" Isaac glanced over his shoulder at Alex. "Oh no…" He looked back at Ivan. "The Wise One's using it to… Ivan!"

"I will destroy humans." Ivan raised his hand and caused a lightning bolt to strike the ground.

"Stop it!" Sheba pummeled on the barrier with her fists, tears running down her face. "Let Ivan go! Please!"

"Ivan!" Mia screamed.

"… It's no good," Garet said desperately. "Ivan's given in."

The barrier flickered and then disappeared. Linza and Luchan walked up behind Ivan, twin smiles on their faces. The Wise One turned to face the Adepts, his eye glowing bright red.

"Get rid of them," Linza ordered.

"STORMING WIND!" Ivan yelled, pointing his palms towards the Adepts. Huge winds swept the yelling Adepts off their feet and sent them flying towards Vale.

"Success," Luchan patted Ivan's shoulder. "Well done." Ivan smiled at being praised.

"Take us away," Linza barked at the Wise One. "Take us back to Queen Synthabel."

"As you wish," The Wise One glowed. The four disappeared, warped away by the Wise One.


	4. Destruction

**Awakening**

* * *

What will the fate of poor little Ivan be? Will he help to destroy humankind? Oh, the horror! Genis Sage is the coolest elf ever! Well, half-elf...

* * *

_Chapter Four: Destruction_

* * *

"So, this is him?" Synthabel smiled at the little boy kneeling in front of her. "The Adept?"

"Yes, he is a Wind Adept," Linza brushed back her chestnut coloured hair with one hand. "He controls the powers of wind and lightning."

"Marvellous," Synthabel clapped her hands together. "And he has Alchemy?"

"He does, your highness," Luchan smiled. "We also have the Wise One under our control."

"Linza and Luchan, you have done well. However, there is no time to rest. You must go back up, and take the elves with you just in case. The Elemental Four, stay behind, we may still need you down here. Start destroying towns. Make the humans fight each other. When I come up, I want to see blood everywhere, I want to see darkness, death and despair. I want to see those foolish humans crying into the soil before they are cut down."

"Yes, your majesty," Linza and Luchan chorused, bowing their heads. "At once."

"Go," Synthabel waved her hand. "Be careful."

Linza and Luchan nodded, and Ivan got to his feet and stepped between them. Other elves clustered around the three and a white glow took them away as Ivan teleported.

"Why do I suddenly feel sad?" Synthabel frowned. "I feel as if I will never see them alive again. What nonsense…"

"We are here for you, your Highness," A blue-haired girl bounced out of the shadows, accompanied by three others. "We will keep you happy."

"Thank you," Synthabel smiled, standing up. Her silver dress swished along the ground as she moved. A slow smile spread across her face as she imagined the humans dying. It would be so sweet to see them lying dead… revenge… at last.

"I will attack Vault," Ivan stood outside the quiet town, his sword in his hand. "The Wise One will be with me just in case. Luchan, I want you to go to Vale with the elves. Those Adepts you saw earlier may come after me. Stop them if you must. Linza, you are to attack Tolbi. Tell them… tell them the city of Kalay has declared war on them. Tolbi will storm Kalay, and they will fight fiercely to the death. They will be weakened, ready for attack."

"Yes, Ivan," Linza flew into the air, her wings beating rapidly. "I'll go right now."

"Come on, we must head to Vale," Luchan turned to the elves standing behind him. "We will fight those Adepts and destroy them all. Have fun, Ivan, and make sure they suffer."

Ivan watched the elves leaving, flying away on the air, and turned his steady gaze back to Vault. What was this? A memory?

"_Yes. I… I do possess strange powers. You have them too, don't you? What? My power… it's called Psynergy? I had no idea! We have so much in common… I feel I can trust you with this. I am quite troubled --- Master Hammet's rod was stolen. Would you please help me get my master's rod back?"_

"_Yes. We'll help you."_

"_Thank you. With your help, I believe we can recover the rod. Your names are… Isaac and Garet. I am Ivan. Pleased to meet you."_

Ivan shook his head sharply, getting rid of the memory.

"You must get rid of the humans, Ivan," The Wise One reminded him. "Kill them all. Leave none alive."

"Yes. I know," Ivan marched steadily into Vale, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

"Hey, isn't that boy Ivan?"

"It's Ivan!"

Ivan raised his hand and started glowing with Psynergy.

"_**STRIKE PLASMA!"**_

Jagged bolts of plasma lightning began to rain down from the sky. The people screamed as the electricity scalded their skin. The ground exploded underneath their feet and balls of flames shot up from the ground, ignited by the fierce lightning.

Some people rushed towards Ivan, aiming to stop him, unable to believe what he was doing.

"_**DEATH RAY!"**_

The attacking humans shrieked in pain as the rays of lightning burned their bodies, causing their skins to peel away. When the lightning cleared, there were nothing but blackened bodies lying on the ground.

"Heh, this is easy," Ivan chuckled. He walked into a house and disintegrated the people inside into ash in mere seconds thanks to his powerful lightning. "Vault is falling fast. None will survive."

* * *

"Where are we going to go?" Jenna asked, as the group rushed out of Vale, weapons at the ready. "You don't have a clue where Ivan is."

"I'm sure those elves will show their ugly faces if we walk around enough," Felix said confidently. "Besides, they want to attack humans, so if we go to the towns, we might find them."

"I hope nobody has to die first," Mia bit her lip. "The idea of so many humans being killed is just… terrible."

"Yeah, and that includes us too," Sheba shuddered. "Even as Adepts, we're still humans. And Ivan… how horrible. He's a human too, and to have to be made to kill other humans by those Elves…"

"I hope we can reach them in time to stop Ivan from having to kill anybody," Piers gritted his teeth. "Ivan should not have to live with that."

"I am afraid you may be too late," Luchan sneered, descending in front of the Adepts, flanked by several Elves. "And we're going to delay you a little. Ivan is currently destroying Vault as we speak."

"No!" Garet exclaimed.

"Where's your companion?" Sheba demanded.

"My sister has gone to Tolbi, to alert them that Kalay is at war with them. Tolbi will attack Kalay, and there will be war," Luchan chuckled. "You won't be alive to stop it from happening either."

"You want to bet?" Isaac drew his Fire Brand angrily. "We're going to strike you all down and then we're going to save Kalay!"

"You think eight of you can stop… what, twenty of us?" Luchan chuckled. "Pathetic. We will kill you all. We will torture you until you are all begging for death, and we will leave you to die, your blood seeping into the earth, and we'll make every human suffer! I can't wait to taste your blood on my blade, to hear your agonized whispers, to pound you all into the dust."

"Shut up!" screamed Mia.

"That's enough!" Felix pointed his Sol Blade at Luchan. "We're going to bring every one of you down before you can even attempt to take our lives."

"These are unfair odds," Alex sniffed indignantly. "But of course we can easily defeat these Elves. They look like nothing more than winged children."

"Ready to lose?" Garet gripped his Levatine, fire blazing in his eyes.

"Heh. You are all full of talk," Luchan tensed, his blade at the ready. "Elves… go!"

"Charge!" Isaac yelled, running towards the Elves, swinging the Fire Brand.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" Iodem, lord of Tolbi, bellowed as he stepped out onto the streets. His people were lying around him, moaning on the streets. A child sat among them, wearing a cloak, her hair covering her ears. "A child?"

"I am a messenger," Linza looked up at him coldly. "I am here to tell you that Kalay has officially declared war on Tolbi."

"Kalay?" Iodem was aghast, his face paling.

"Yes," Linza nodded. "If you do not ready your troops and attack Kalay, they will come and cut you all down."

"But why?"

"Power, what else?" Linza got to her feet and walked away. "Prepare for war."

"Wait a minute!" Iodem gave chase but the child was already gone.

"Stop, Lord Iodem!" A soldier halted him. "It is unsafe to go out there. We can only do as she ordered and attack Kalay before they can strike us down. Look what they have done to our people!"

"But where are the soldiers who cut my people down?" Iodem wondered. "And why would Kalay declare war on us just like this? They are supposed to be a peaceful town. No… this is terrible. I wonder what Lord Babi would want me to do… he would want me to protect the people of Tolbi. Then… it is inevitable. We must attack Kalay."

Linza stood just outside the town gate, hiding behind a bush. At Iodem's vengeful words, a satisfied smirk graced her expression.


	5. Battle

**Awakening**

* * *

The battle scene starts now! Hurray!

* * *

_Chapter Five: Battle_

* * *

"Poor foolish mortals," Ivan kicked the charred body of the elderly man, the mayor of Vault. His family lay a few feet away, also in the same state as he. The man had looked at Ivan so trustingly, and his children had called out his name, and his wife had smiled at him. That was before he knocked down the woman with a lethal blast of plasma and reduced the children to husks. Ivan had the old man on his knees begging for life, only to have a lightning bolt strike the back of his neck and kill him instantly.

Right as Ivan had delivered that last lightning bolt, a tear had slithered down his cheek. A stray bead of salty water that betrayed him. The mayor had seen that tear, right before death took him away. Ivan wiped at the wet trail in disgust. He could not believe that his victim, the last living resident of Vault to be killed, had seen him in a split second of weakness.

"I should be heading to Kalay now," Ivan stepped out of the house, looking at the destruction that surrounded him. He smiled and stepped over a figure, briefly looking at the wide eyes and the gaping mouth, permanently frozen in a scream. "I am sure that Linza will have attacked Tolbi, and told them Kalay will attack. Kalay must prepare for war against Tolbi."

Linza had not moved away from Tolbi yet. She slinked around the castle, listening in on private conversations, as Iodem prepared for war and got his soldiers ready. Linza had to make sure that Tolbi actually did do something and didn't back out at the last minute. So far, things were going great. The Tolbians were paranoid and would immediately rush to protect themselves if they thought they were in danger.

* * *

"This isn't fair!" Sheba yelled as an elf swooped over her head. She took that moment to hit its legs with her staff and bring it to the ground. "It's two against one!"

"Three against one over here," Alex gritted his teeth as an elf fired a lightning bolt at him, striking him in the side. "Ice Missile!" He yelled, blasting the elf with several shards of ice. The elf screamed and fell back, blood running down his clothes. Alex took that chance to leap forwards, slashing wildly away with his sword. Another elf intervened, but only managed to receive a cutting blow to the arm. Alex returned to his quarry and slashed away aggressively, until the elf let out a piteous wail and dissipated into sparkling dust.

"Alyon!" Another elf shouted. "I'll avenge you!" He darted at Alex, eyes blazing with lust for vengeance. Alex wearily parried the blow of his blade, determined not to let the elf get a single mark on his body.

"This isn't right," Mia swung her Nebula Wand and caught an elf in the face. The elf was dazed and fluttered around in a circle before being knocked down by an Ice Horn. "I don't feel like killing."

"Mia, if you hesitate, we could lose!" Jenna yelled, launching a fireball at an elf who screamed as her wing caught on fire. "And then all humankind could be wiped out by these pointy-eared, winged freaks!"

"I know…" Mia shivered. "But it still doesn't feel right…" The elf fluttered weakly, trying to get back up into the air, but Mia had already returned to knocking it down. Her wand let out a howl and she yelled, "REVERSE STAR!" There was an explosion and the elf was sent flying, meeting the ground with a sharp crack. This was followed by a death moan and dissolving into sparkles.

"Charlin!" An elf entered the fray, aiming at Mia. Mia sighed and readied her wand, partly wishing that these elves didn't have to be so vengeful.

"Not finished yet?" Jenna scowled as the elf advanced on her, one wing now a frayed crisp. "Bring it on!" The Mars Adept lunged forwards, Lachesis Rule howling as she ran. "Apocalypse!" The elf was knocked back by the attack, but retaliated with a flurry of vines which wrapped around Jenna and tried to hold her fast.

"Jenna!" Felix briefly left his fight with two swift elves to chop the vines apart, releasing Jenna from the elf's hold. He returned back to the fray to unleash Megiddo upon an elf, who had been about to attack him from the back. The elf was unable to withstand the power of the meteorite and disappeared. The other elf screamed and attacked wildly with twin blades, Felix desperately blocking the attacks. He winced as a blade glanced off his arm and narrowly dodged the other blade as it tried to cut his throat.

"Three down, seventeen to go," Garet blasted another elf with Liquifier and blinked as the elf screamed and dissolved into dust much like his fallen comrades had. "That was a weak one. Make that sixteen, everyone."

"They're not all weak," Sheba gasped as a forceful blow of a sword clanged against her mace and the ground shook underneath her, a brand new rock trying to trip her up. She was up against an elf, who was good with his sword and could use earth magic. This was not her day. "Hammersphere!" Sheba yelled, as the Tungsten Mace let out a howl.

"They may not be much, but they are fierce!" Isaac tried to fend off an elf before leaping forwards to thrust the sword into his torso. The elf dodged and flew upwards, but Isaac was quicker and pulled the elf down by his leg, sending him crashing into the ground. The elf growled and flew forwards, just as Isaac swung the sword. He winced momentarily as his sword cleaved head from body, racking up another casualty. "Fifteen…"

"It's bloody…" Mia swung the staff again and again, trying to knock the other elf down.

"But there's no blood, Mia," Piers reasoned, felling another Elf with a Diamond Burg. "I know what you mean… but at least it's not literally bloody."

"Yeah…" Mia sighed and drove an ice shard into the elf's throat, causing her to fall to the ground, coughing and choking, before dissolving into the ground. "…Thirteen?"

"Twelve!" Sheba exclaimed, as a well aimed Spark Plasma sent another elf to Elf Heaven. "I'm good at this… Unf!" She grunted as an elf's steel boot met with her gut and sent her flying. The elf lunged at her and pinned her to the ground, poised to drive his sword into her heart.

"Sheba!" Piers cried out in horror.

"Get off!" Jenna ran forwards, tackling the elf and knocking him off Sheba, wrestling him to the ground. The two proceeded to wrestle on the ground while Sheba regained her composure and reached for her mace, abashed by what had just happened.

"Be careful, everybody!" Felix warned, clutching the wound on his arm. It was beginning to sting, but he couldn't stop now. Beads of sweat formed on his skin as he leaped forwards and drove the Sol Blade firmly into the heart of the elf, who was currently attacking him. The Venus Adept sighed in relief and sank to his knees for a moment to catch his breath. "Eleven."

"We're still outnumbered!" Alex complained, forcing back the vengeful elf and driving one of the twin swords into his gut while slashing the other one across his throat. "Ten. Does anybody feel like a child-killer?"

"Well, it's not our fault they have the appearance of children!" Sheba complained. "They may look a bit cute," She paused, wincing as a vine slashed across her cheek, drawing a cut. "But they are trying to destroy us all! Hammersphere!"

"GRAND GAIA!" Isaac screamed at the top of his voice. He nodded in satisfaction as his enemy vanished. "Nine."

"We're winning!" Garet exclaimed, casting Pyroclasm on an elf before blasting him with Radiant Fire from the Levatine. The elf stepped back, charred and smoking, and wearily lifted his arm to try and cast a magic spell. However, life gave up on him before he could cast it and he fell to the ground, dissolving into sparkly dust. "Eight."

"Finally, it's equal!" Sheba growled, slamming her mace into the face of the elf who kept hitting her with those pesky vines. Anger at nearly losing her life like that made her swifter and deadlier in battle. Sheba bashed the elf wildly with her mace, until he finally gave in and released his hold on life. "Seven!"

"Give up, you stupid elf!" Jenna was still wrestling. She furiously kicked and slapped. "You're not going to overpower me any time soon!"

"Six," Piers continued the countdown, as he slashed his sword and severed an elf's head from her body.

"This isn't good," Luchan stood far aside, watching the battle. Horror was written all over his face. "At this rate, I may have to intervene."

"Five!" Felix cried out, as Megiddo claimed yet another victim.

"I'm so tired…" Mia heaved, her eyes half-closed. "This is tiring."

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" Sheba frowned. "But these elves aren't even very strong at all."

"Aah!" Jenna yelled, as the elf she was wrestling plunged the sharp end of a stick into her chest. She got to her feet and backed away, pulling the stick out and tossing it on the ground in disgust. "You filthy cheater!" Jenna screamed, flinging fireballs in rapid succession, paying little attention to the blood now beginning to drip down her vest. Eventually, the elf could not take the fire scorching his body all over and gave in. "FOUR!"

"Jenna, you're wounded," Piers hurried over and cast Ply upon Jenna's wound. "Be more careful, okay?"

"Yeah," Jenna nodded. "Thanks." She looked around for her Lachesis Rule and, upon seeing it, snatched it up gleefully. "Who's next?"

"Not this guy," Garet looked down at the elf dissolving on the end of his Levatine. "Three."

"Or this bratty little elf girl," Sheba's Hammersphere unleash, combined with two Spark Plasmas in quick succession, brought down another elf. "Two."

The Adepts circled around the two remaining elves, not counting Luchan.

"No!" Luchan yelled, but he was too late to stop the flurry of Psynergy that most of the Adepts threw at the remaining elves, some of them hanging back a little to cast healing spells or striking with their weapons instead. He sighed as he found himself the only elf left on the battlefield. "I'm sorry, Queen Synthabel…"

"There's still an elf left," Mia pointed at the elf-man. "You're next, then?"

"After killing all my comrades in cold blood, I cannot allow to let you puny humans live any longer," Luchan stepped forwards, eyes glittering in cold fury. "I'm afraid I underestimated you, and I will not make that mistake again. Prepare to die."

"Oh please!" Sheba scoffed. "You're probably just as weak as-" A blazing fireball sent her rocketing off her feet and crashing into a nearby tree. The Jupiter Adept slumped to the ground, groaning, and fell over, lying prone.

"That wasn't very nice!" Piers exclaimed. "You didn't even give her a warning!"

"What did you expect?" Luchan snarled. "I am one of the most powerful Elves, and you will find me a formidable opponent. I am not going to play fair." He started forwards, swinging his blade, and aimed at Felix, who let out a small cry of surprise, parrying the swing with the Sol Blade just in time.

"He's fierce with a sword," Isaac commented, the sword clangs echoing in his ear. "But what can one do against eight… I mean… seven of us…"

"I'll tend to Sheba!" Mia hurried towards the Jupiter Adept. Luchan growled, backing away from Felix, and rose into the air, creating rocks with his hands and flinging them at Mia.

"Look out, Mia!" Isaac screamed with sheer effort, almost falling apart with desperation as the rocks plowed into Mia's back and sent her crashing face first into the ground. She did not get up again. Isaac turned back to face Luchan, his face reddening with anger. "You dirty coward! I call Bane!" The named Venus Djinn flew forwards in a blaze of gold, striking Luchan with a venomous blow. "Stay back, everybody, I'll take on Luchan personally!"

"Poor idiot boy," Luchan chuckled, flying back a metre. "Blinded by love… was she your pretty little girlfriend, then? How pathetic. You humans deserve no such thing. You all deserve death and misery."

"Shut up!" Isaac growled, running forwards. "Geode!" The second Venus Djinn appeared, striking with a clod of earth that sent Luchan flying.

"Nice," Luchan spat. "But it's barely hurting me at all. Take this! Conduct Stream!"

Isaac was hit by a fierce torrent of water, and gasped as electricity suddenly traveled across the water. He managed to absorb the fact that the elf could use two elements together as the shock coursed along his body. Isaac kneeled for a moment, the shocks still traveling along his body and causing the occasional jolt.

"How did that feel?" Luchan chuckled, walking towards Isaac. "If you want to know how much pain I'll cause your friends after I'm done with you, imagine the pain you feel now trebled many times. Especially the blue haired girl. She'll suffer, scream, plead for death, and her last memory will be one of despair, misery and the will to die."

"Sap!" Isaac lunged forwards, striking with his sword, the third Venus Djinn lending power to draw some of Luchan's life energy and re-absorb it into Isaac. Isaac pointed his sword at the elf, his hand shaking. He was so angry to imagine Mia being tortured into asking for death, that he was unable to see the boot swinging into his chin and the rapid punch sending him flying onto his back.

"Isaac!" Garet shouted. "Be careful!" He made a move as if to run forwards and help, but Felix stopped him.

"It's Isaac's fight," Felix shook his head. "Let him fight it out alone."

"Flint!" Isaac called forth the fourth Venus Djinn, striking Luchan once more. He was starting to tire, and anger was clouding his better judgment. He could barely see what he was doing; he was just striking blindly and hoping he got lucky.

"Pathetic imbecile," Luchan swept Isaac's legs out from underneath him and pointed his sword at Isaac's throat, a grin on his face. "Now who's got the advantage here?"

"Heh…" Isaac grinned back. "Didn't you wonder why I was using Djinn only? I SUMMON JUDGMENT!"

Luchan looked up at a new sound and saw an armored figure with the head of a lion fire a blast of pure Venus Psynergy towards him. Isaac rolled over out of the way as the blast struck Luchan full on, He screamed as the attack ripped into him and stepped back, dazed, when it was finished. His chest rose and fell rapidly and he fell to his knees.

"Linza…" Luchan shuddered, pulling a pendant from around his neck and letting it drop to the ground. His eyes were unfocused, moving around wildly. "Forgive me." Luchan groaned and fell on his side, his body dissolving into a whirl of glittering sparkles.

"We've won…" Felix sighed in relief, wiping his forehead. Suddenly remembering Sheba, he ran over to where she lay. "Sheba!"

"Mia!" Isaac ran to the pile of rocks and pulled them aside to reveal Mia lying unconscious. A deep cut scored her side and she was covered in bruises. "Quartz, revive!" The Venus Djinn chirped and hovered over Mia, casting a golden light over her. With seconds, the wounds disappeared and Mia's eyes fluttered open. She looked up at Isaac and smiled.

"Isaac…" Mia gasped out. "What's…"

"We've won," Isaac helped her to her feet. "It's going to be okay now."

"I'm sorry, Felix," Sheba murmured, as she awoke. "I got hurt. I'm so much trouble."

"It's alright, Sheba," Felix pulled her into a hug. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Didn't the elf say that his sister was going to tell Tolbi to attack Kalay?" Jenna recalled. "We'd better head to Kalay!"

"Shouldn't we rest first?" Garet asked.

"Yeah. We're really tired. And besides, we can get to Kalay in no time at all with the Teleport Lapis," Isaac wiped his sweaty forehead. "I think it would be best to rest for a while. We'll set off early tomorrow to warn them."


	6. Warning

**Awakening**

* * *

Procrastination rules! There's nothing wrong with wanting to write fanfiction anyway!

* * *

_Chapter Six: Warning_

* * *

Barely a day had passed, in which Ivan had spent the whole time walking towards the city, preferring to deliberate rather than take the quick way. His excuse was that he wanted things to get interesting. The Wise One had simply accepted his reason and glided slowly through the air, watching the Jupiter Adept travel up a hill with ease.

"Kalay," Ivan stood upon the summit of the hill, looking at the city silhouetted against the rising sun. "A small city, but with formidable soldiers. However, their strength is useless if they are not warned of Tolbi's attack firsthand. It would be butchery. I must go to warn them. They know me and they trust me. This is my advantage. Wise One, stay here, where you can still hear and see me. I will enter the town alone."

"As you wish," The Wise One blinked his sole red eye. "Be careful."

"Heh, I don't need to be careful," Ivan said cockily. "I'm powerful." The young boy took off at a run, hurtling down the hill towards Kalay.

"It's Ivan!" A guard standing at the edge of the gate exclaimed. "The boy who used to live with Lord Hammet!"

"I've returned to Kalay," Ivan said seriously. "I've got urgent news to tell Master Hammet."

"Urgent news?" The other guard gaped. "Then… you'd better go at once!"

"Yes," Ivan hurried across the street. Even though it was early, people were already getting up and filling up the streets. He hurried up the steps to the palace and paused to catch his breath before approaching the soldiers standing at the palace door.

"Ivan? Is that really you?" A soldier squinted at the boy.

"Yes," Ivan nodded. "I'm back in Kalay. I must go to see Master Hammet at once, I need to warn him of war."

"War?!" The soldiers exclaimed, exchanging surprised looks.

"Then you'd better come in," A soldier opened the door and stepped inside. Ivan followed the soldier into the throne room, where Hammet and Layana were discussing something. They stopped as soon as he entered the room.

"Ivan!" Layana exclaimed. "You're back?"

"It's you, Ivan," Hammet said joyfully. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Ivan couldn't help the smile spreading on his face. For a moment, he felt completely free from the influence of Alchemy, just like the good, well-meaning boy he was supposed to be, but the feeling quickly dispersed, leaving the twisted, scheming creature behind. "I hope Kalay is in good fighting form."

"Huh? Well… it should be, but why…" Layana gave him a quizzical look.

"Ivan has said that he must warn you of war," The soldier spoke loudly.

"War?" Hammet went pale. "What monstrosity is this?"

"Tolbi…" Ivan lowered his eyes. "I heard from a traveler that Tolbi was planning to attack Kalay, and they would be riding out shortly to attack the city."

"But what has Kalay ever done to Tolbi?" Layana was aghast at the thought.

"It's not what they have done," Ivan shook his head. "It's power. Tolbi wants more power. Kalay is close, Kalay is wealthy, so why not attack it first and without warning, so that the city can fall easily and Tolbi can rob it of its gold."

"This is terrible," Hammet clenched a fist. "Then we must prepare this city for war?"

"How much time do we have?" Layana shuddered.

"I do not know," Ivan said regretfully. "I am so sorry. I… I hope that Kalay doesn't fall. Please... make sure you win."

"Ivan…" Hammet started.

"I must go," Ivan turned and ran, heading out of the room. His insides were being eaten up by guilt. No matter how much he tried to shake off the feeling, it just weighed him down. This idea was all his fault. Ivan walked out of the palace and down the steps, into the city, feeling dismal.

"Kalay will be destroyed…" Ivan muttered. "And Tolbi may well be destroyed too. Humans will die… blood will be spilled. War will wreck the lands once more. And the Elves can claim Weyard."

"Do you really want them to do that?"

Ivan stopped in his tracks, looking up at who had spoken and gasped as he recognized the person.

* * *

"Great," Linza watched the soldiers marching out of Tolbi, flanked by cavalry. "The Tolbi army is going to march to Kalay now. About time… huh? I suddenly feel that something is very wrong. Brother Luchan?"

Linza took to the air and soared in the direction of Vale at a speedy rate, her wings going faster than she remembered them doing so before. When Linza reached Vale, she found that there was nobody there. Linza crossly wondered if Luchan had gone somewhere else without letting her know first, but a glint caught her eye and she slowly descended to the ground. The horrorstruck elf picked up the pendant, and reached for her own, holding the two together. It was a perfect match. And the only reason Luchan would let go of his pendant would be if…

"No… no… brother… LUCHAN!" Linza howled. "Those filthy Adepts! I'll pay them back for what they've done to you! I swear!"

* * *

"This is terrible…" Mia gasped, tears trickling down her face as she looked down at a burned carcass. "Why?"

"Everybody in Vault is… dead…" Sheba shuddered, sobs wracking her body.

"No…" Jenna looked around frantically. "There must be survivors…"

"Whoever it was… they even killed children," Felix ran a hand through his bangs. "I cannot imagine how something could go so far as to do something so barbaric."

"These attacks…" Isaac paled.

"Electricity?" Garet suggested.

"Look at how this woman's hair is sticking up," Isaac pointed at a body, still keeping his distance from it. "Static. They are all like that."

"Electricity?" Piers's eyes widened. "Then that means…"

"Ivan did all of this?" Sheba cried.

"No!" Mia gasped. "Ivan? He killed everybody all by himself?"

"How could Ivan do this?" Jenna gritted her teeth. "It's like all his humanity is gone."

"We've got to find Ivan, and fast," Isaac clenched a fist. "Before he kills any more people."

"Where do you think he is?" Garet asked.

"We'll try Kalay," Felix said decisively. "After all, that elf mentioned Kalay."

"I hope we're not too late to stop Ivan from hurting anybody…" Mia couldn't imagine the thought of Ivan hurting anybody in the very city where he had grown up.

"We'll just have to find out," Isaac said grimly, as the party headed outside Vault.

"We should come back afterwards to bury the bodies," Piers sadly stepped over a child. "But first, we'd better save lives."

"Okay, we're going," Felix raised the Teleport Lapis and the party was surrounded by a swirl of Psynergy lights, which carried them away. Less than a minute later, an angry elf flew past the place where they had stood.


	7. The Elementals

**Awakening**

* * *

More exciting battle stuff. Fun.

* * *

_Chapter Seven: Elementals_

* * *

"Hama!" Ivan took a step back, astonished to see his sister. Last time he had seen her, she was in Contigo, and now here she was, in Kalay. Hama looked at him intently, her forehead creased with worry. She was worried?

"Ivan, you… you have power…" Hama flickered with Psynergy, closing her eyes for a moment. "The power of Alchemy is inside you. Do you not realize that so much power can be dangerous for you?"

"Dangerous? Yeah, right," Ivan narrowed his eyes. "There's no point in telling me not to use it, because I already have!"

"Don't you see, your body can't handle so much power being used in such a short time?" Hama demanded. "It has to adjust! If you abuse the power too quickly, your body will be unable to cope and you could die!"

"Die? With Alchemy, I am immortal," Ivan said dismissively. "I am invincible. The Wise One would not seek to endanger my life, would he? He's a being of good after all."

"He's a being of good, underneath the control of a vengeful species that are out to rid Weyard of humans!" Hama countered.

"I see you've done your research, sister," Ivan sniffed. "Now please move aside. I do not wish to harm you and I must get back to the elves."

"Ivan!"

"Oh, boy," Ivan sighed, shaking his head. "Now this is getting interesting." He looked up at the eight people who had just entered Kalay. "I wonder if you've all seen Vault yet. I certainly didn't hesitate to finish off every single puny human being."

"Why did you do it, Ivan?" Garet yelled angrily.

"How could you?" Isaac asked, his eyes filled with sadness.

"Master Hama? You're here too?" Mia looked surprised.

"I sensed that something was horribly wrong, and I came straight over," Hama answered her question. "Ivan, you must come to your senses before it's too late!"

"Don't make me fight every one of you," Ivan ordered. "None of you can compare to my might, now that I wield all of Alchemy."

"You do realize the elves are trying to kill us anyway, don't you?" Sheba gritted her teeth.

"It bothers me not," Ivan said disdainfully, raising a hand. "This is your final warning. Back off and let me get out of Kalay, or else I will proceed to annihilate every single one of you."

"Not if we annihilated you first," Isaac said blankly.

"Isaac!" Mia exclaimed. "But we can't fight Ivan…"

"No, we can't," Hama said fiercely. "Ivan's not the one doing this. He is being controlled."

"Controlled?" Ivan smirked. "I do this of my own free will. Nobody is telling me what to do. The Wise One simply gave me Alchemy and with that, he gave me the desire to help the elves and wipe out humankind."

"You are a human!" Jenna screeched in frustration. "We all are!"

"But I am superior," Ivan placed his hands on his hips. "So it bothers me not."

"Stop saying that or I am going to ram this Tungsten Mace right up your butt!" Sheba pointed her mace at him threateningly.

"Not if I run the Tisiphone Edge through you first," Ivan waved his sword towards her.

"Is that a challenge?" Sheba tensed.

"If you want," Ivan took a step forwards.

"Certainly," Sheba also stepped forwards.

"Stop!" Piers shouted. Sheba sighed in frustration. "Sheba, you can't fight Ivan. It would be foolish to try."

"He's right," Felix added.

"Ohhh…" Sheba hung her head.

"With the power of Alchemy at his disposal, it's suicide," Alex shook his head.

"Well, since none of you are moving," Ivan looked angrily at the Adepts barring his path. "I'm just going to have to make my own way through." He raised a hand up high.

"Stop!" exclaimed Garet. "Don't do it!"

"**HURRICANE STO-"**

"I've finally found you, you assholes!"

Ivan broke off his attempt to cast Psynergy, and folded his arms, smiling as the Adepts turned around in surprise to see an angry Linza.

"An elf," Hama frowned.

"Isn't that the other elf?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah," Isaac's eyes widened. "The other one who was with the Wise One and Ivan!"

"I am Linza Shyrina, sister of Luchan, and I am going to avenge him! Which one of you dealt the finishing blow? WHICH ONE? Whoever it was will die first!"

"It was me," Isaac stepped forwards. "I finished him off."

"Isaac?" Felix looked at him in surprise.

"She deserves to know," Isaac's hand strayed towards the Fire Brand in its scabbard. "If you want to fight me, Linza, go ahead."

"With pleasure," Linza snarled, running forwards.

"Linza! Stop!"

"Queen Synthabel!" Linza halted in her tracks. She turned and flew over to her queen, standing just outside Kalay. "They… they killed Luchan!"

"You cannot throw your life away!" Synthabel exclaimed. "You alone cannot deal with the eight of them. But perhaps the Elementals can."

"The Elementals?" Linza's jaw dropped.

"What's wrong? Think we can't handle it?" A female elf with blue hair dropped to the ground and lifted one hand, letting drops of water trickle from her fingers. "I, Moana, the Water Elemental, will drown you all in cascading torrents of water!"

"I am the Fire Elemental, Phoenix," Another female elf walked out from behind Synthabel, tossing her red-gold hair over her shoulders. "And I will scorch you all with my flames of death!"

"You haven't seen anything yet," A male elf with spiky violet hair approached. "Prepare to be electrocuted by Raiden, the Lightning Elemental."

"Golem is my name," A fourth elf, also male, fluttered to the ground, his brown hair flapping in the breeze. "Using my power as the Earth Elemental, I will grind you all into dust."

"Okay, Isaac, you and me take on that Golem elf," Felix pulled the blond aside. "Jenna and Garet, take on Phoenix. Mia and Piers, fight Moana. Um… Sheba…"

"I'll help!" Hama walked over to Sheba's side. "Okay, Sheba, you and me fight Raiden."

"And I'll make sure you don't go anywhere," Alex walked up to Ivan, who shot a poisonous glare at the Mercury Adept.

"I wasn't intending to," Ivan said smoothly. "I am curious to see how this battle will turn out."

Within seconds, everybody was out of the centre of the town and fighting the elves in the alleyways at the sides. It was important to keep away from the public so that they would not be harmed. It wasn't easy fighting in an alleyway, but they could manage.

* * *

"Ice Missile!" Mia blasted several rounds of ice shards at Moana. She managed to dodge most of them, but a few hit home, bringing forth fresh cuts on her legs and arms.

"Ow! That wasn't very nice!" Moana tutted, forming a water crystal in her hands which she flung at Mia. As it flew through the air, it shattered into several rough-edged shards. Mia winced as they all cut through her clothes and skin.

"Diamond Berg!" Piers yelled, using the distraction to attack Moana from the back. He slashed away fiercely, before jumping back out of the way of her retaliation attack, which was to try and stab him with an icicle.

"Glacier!" Mia cried, forming several layers of ice which trapped Moana briefly.

"You are so pesky!" Moana shook the shards of ice off herself. "This will shut you up!" She rose up into the air and spread out her arms. A bubble of water formed in front of her, rippling smoothly as the air nudged it.

"Look out," Piers warned. "I've never seen anything like that before."

"Well, you're not elves now, are you?" Moana chuckled, hurling the bubble of water at Mia.

Mia braced herself for the blow, expecting to be hit with a torrent of falling water. It caught her by surprise when she felt the water slipping comfortably around her and she would have gasped, but she couldn't or else water would come flooding into her mouth. Mia had been trapped in a water bubble. She feebly put her hands against the side of the bubble but met only solid resistance. Tiny bubbles floated out of Mia's nostrils, and she threw a panicked glance at the Lemurian. 'I'm going to drown if I don't get out of here!' she realized in alarm.

"Mia!" Piers realized that Mia was in danger of drowning. How ironic that would be, a Water Adept drowning.

"Oh dear," Moana chuckled nastily, forming an icicle in her hand. "The poor little girl is going to drown. What can you do? Nothing!" She flung the icicle hard and it brushed against Piers's arm, bringing forth blood. He hissed and held his hand over the shallow cut, trying to think of something he could do before it was too late.

"It's your magic and I don't know how to get rid of it," Piers looked at the ground. It was covered in puddles of water. "But I imagine that if I was able to finish you off, it would go away."

"Can't be sure though, can you?" Moana giggled, looking at the frantic girl trapped inside the bubble. Mia was already beginning to feel like her head would explode with all the breath she was holding in… she had to let it go before her lungs exploded…

"Well, I can at least try," Piers drew the Masamune.

"With that sword?" Moana folded her arms and gave him a skeptical look. "You can't even reach me up here, silly."

Mia was starting to feel light-headed, her eyes were bugging out and her cheeks swelled up with air. Any second now, her mouth would open and water would come rushing in, filling up her lungs and she would drown. Her eyes stung with fresh tears as she embraced the idea that she was going to die right now, by drowning. 'Isaac, I'm so sorry,' she sent out a silent prayer for him, thinking of him as she imagined this to be her last moment of life. She would never hold him again, never get to look in his eyes, never tell him that she…

"Frost!" Piers shouted, as he stepped onto the puddle nearest to Moana. Moana was caught off guard as the puddle became a pillar of ice, with Piers standing on top. He grabbed the water elf by the foot and leaped off the pillar, dragging her down with him and slamming her onto the floor. Moana struggled, but the Masamune had already pierced her chest.

"Queen Synthabel… I have failed you…" Moana choked, as Piers yanked the sword out.

'And now… I'm going…' Dots were swarming in front of Mia's eyes and she felt so calm and peaceful, a defeated smile on her face, bubbles flowing thickly out her mouth and nose. Mia opened her mouth, expelling the air, and as she embraced death, she prayed that Isaac would still be happy without her.

Moana released a death gasp and dissolved into sparkles, which disappeared into the ground.

Piers turned around as he heard a loud splash from behind him and was relieved to see Mia kneeling on the ground, gasping frantically for breath as she sat in the middle of a large puddle of water. Tears of relief were already trickling down her face.

"Are you okay?" Piers ran over to the Imilian, looking concerned.

"I thought I was going to die!" Mia wailed, grabbing his clothes and burying her head in his chest. "I was about to… I swear I was! It was awful!"

"I'm sure it was," Piers patted her back sympathetically. "You're safe now."

* * *

"Earthquake!" Isaac called out, causing the ground to shake rapidly underneath Golem's feet. He almost fell on his back, but he flapped his wings quickly in order to keep himself upright.

"Is that the best you can do?" Golem sneered, his eyes flashing ominously. "This should be interesting. Very interesting indeed."

"Stone Spire!" Felix shouted. Several conical shaped stones landed on top of Golem and he fell on his hands and knees, feeling dazed for a moment. "Good enough?"

"Huh!" Golem sniffed in contempt. "You underestimate me, fools. Vine wrap!"

Several thick, strong vines poured out of the ground, wrapping fast around Isaac and Felix. They struggled against the vines, but the vines held them too tightly. Golem grinned and held out his hands, two large thorns appearing in them.

"And now I'll spear you two upon these two pretty thorns here. You'll bleed to death within minutes, and that will be the two of you dealt with."

"Isaac," Felix hissed, as an idea came to him. "Grab my hand!"

Isaac struggled to move his hand. With enough straining, he managed to make it so that their hands were able to clasp. Fortunately, Golem had not noticed what they were doing, he was too busy raving about how easy it had been.

"Joint Grand Gaia," Felix whispered.

"Got it," Isaac whispered back.

"Are you ready to die?" Golem snarled, preparing to launch the thorns in the air towards Isaac and Felix, unable to see the Psynergy trails traveling along their bodies. He barely noticed the gold light coming from their hands either.

"GRAND GAIA!" Felix and Isaac yelled at the same time, casting the most powerful Venus Psynergy they possessed.

Golem paused as the ground shook underneath him. He looked down in confusion and then screamed as he was blasted with pure Earth power. It tore into his body and ripped him apart, twice as powerful as it usually was. Golem was already dissipating into sparkles when he fell back to the ground. The vines disappeared, releasing Isaac and Felix.

"We did it!" Felix punched the air.

"Good idea, Felix," Isaac gave him a thumbs up.

* * *

"You are too slow," Phoenix taunted the male Mars Adept as he furiously swiped away with the Levatine. She dodged another blow, fluttering her wings to elevate herself.

"But I'm not!" A fireball struck Phoenix in the back and the Lachesis Rule smashed against her legs. Phoenix crossly turned and shot an arrow shaped bolt of fire at Jenna. This gave Garet the opening to cast Pyroclasm, as Jenna narrowly dodged the bolt.

"Ugh…" Phoenix muttered.

"Finding it too hot in the kitchen?" Garet grinned.

"Of course not!" Phoenix swiped her arm through the air, causing masses of billowing flames to send Garet flying back against the wall.

"Garet!" Jenna cast Dragon Fume at the fire elf. "Are you okay?"

"Explode!" Phoenix yelled, gesturing at a jutting out part of the wall which Garet had crashed against. It burst into flames and came falling down. Garet barely had time to look up before stone and tinder came crashing down on his head, knocking him unconscious. "Now for the girl."

"You just made a very big mistake," Jenna said ominously, stepping forwards and gripping the staff so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

"Hah!" Phoenix held up her hands, which were flickering with deadly fire. "I am far more experienced with the use of fire, and I'd love to see what an amateur Fire Adept can possibly do."

"Dragon Fume!"

A roaring flame dragon struck Phoenix on the head and caused her to lower to the ground, looking slightly dazed.

"Flare Storm!"

A rushing wave of fire washed over the Fire Elf, and she only winced slightly, as it was only weak Fire Psynergy.

"SEARING BEAM!"

A large beam of fire struck Phoenix squarely in the chest and caused her to rocket backwards several feet, grimacing in pain. Jenna advanced on her, looking murderous.

"I call Cannon!"

Phoenix looked up in surprise as a small creature came cannonballing into her, surrounded by blazing fire.

"Core!"

Phoenix tried to defend herself against the next Djinni, but to her surprise, she was easily hurt by this one.

"Char!"

The force of the blow inexplicably caused Phoenix's limbs to lock together and she tried to move, but found herself unable to.

"FURY!"

The elf was surprised to see strange white, wispy objects frenziedly attacking her, and they could only be described as… souls?

"I… summon… METEOR!" Jenna screamed.

Phoenix slowly looked up, her eyes widening as a large, glowing ball of rock hurtled into her and rammed her into the ground. When the meteor disappeared, she was lying on the ground covered in dirt and burn marks. Jenna lunged forwards, swinging her howling Lachesis Rule.

"_**APOCALYPSE!**_" Jenna screamed.

Much to Jenna's satisfaction, Phoenix whispered something and then disappeared into a mass of swirling sparkles.

"Serves you right, you cheating scumbag," Jenna said darkly, before hurrying over to Garet. "Garet! Are you okay?"

"Oh man…" Garet opened his eyes slowly. "What just hit me?"

"Well, that dirty cheater caused part of the wall to fall on you," Jenna explained as she cast Cool Aura. "But I taught her a lesson."

"So she's gone?" Garet got to his feet, rubbing the back of his head.

"Of course," Jenna smiled. "Nobody makes me mad and gets away with it."

* * *

"Ugh!" Raiden snarled as Hama delivered a double kick to his gut and sent him sprawling. "I have no desire to mess with you and your martial arts. Thunder Jolt!"

"Storm Ray!" Sheba cried out, her lightning colliding with Raiden's. The bolts seemed to hover in the air, as if grappling with each other, before exploding. Fortunately, Sheba and Hama had already backed off.

"Spark Plasma!" Hama yelled, hitting Raiden with a volley of plasma bolts before he had a chance to recover.

"Hammersphere!" Sheba cried, her Tungsten Mace howling as she swung it towards the lightning Elf.

"You… will not defeat me!" Raiden flung a plasma ball at Sheba, who dodged it in the nick of time. As it was, it brushed against the edge of her dress, causing the fabric to sizzle.

"You burned my dress!" Sheba gasped. "Do you have any idea how much this costs? Whorl!" She yelled, running forwards and attacking, the Djinni hovering above her head and lending her power to attack with.

"Storm Ray!" Hama cast Psynergy again, distracting Raiden from attacking Sheba back.

"Wheeze!" Sheba called up her poisonous Djinni as she attacked again.

"Ugh…" Raiden kneeled over, clutching his stomach. "Damn…" He started to flash, the wind building up speed, as he turned his malevolent gaze towards Sheba.

"Haze!" Sheba exclaimed, becoming invisible as the Djinni hid her away. She quickly scuttled away.

"WIND SPEAR!" Raiden unleashed a lethal spear of wind at the place he had last seen Sheba. "You cannot hide from me!"

"You missed," Sheba re-appeared, five meters away. "Blitz!"

Raiden winced as the lightning bolt struck him. "Pathetic child! I will decapitate you with my wind blades!"

"I don't think so," Hama rushed forwards and sharply swung her fist into his head, sending him skidding onto the ground.

"I summon Thor!" Sheba almost sang, looking triumphant.

Raiden lay on the ground, his eyes closed as the Jupiter Summon appeared in the sky and sent down a volley of lightning bolts to strike him. He never opened his eyes again as he dissolved into sparkles.

"Whew!" Sheba wiped her brow. "That wasn't too hard."

"Yes, we were fortunate," Hama started walking back to the center of the town. "I hope everybody else has managed to defeat their foes. These elves are powerful."

"I'm sure everybody else is fine, Master Hama," Sheba walked alongside. "We've had a lot of experience after all."

* * *

The exalted Adepts reunited at the center, all of them victorious from their battles. Alex was still holding Ivan at bay, but he did not look like he was going to go anywhere soon.

"You're still here, Ivan," Hama approached him, smiling. "I'm glad."

"Huh…" Ivan squinted at her. "Stay back."

"How did it go?" Alex approached the group.

"I nearly drowned!" Mia flung herself at Isaac. "Isaac…"

"It's okay," Isaac patted her. "You're okay."

"No!" Synthabel wailed. "You've defeated the Elementals? Raiden, Phoenix, Golem, Moana…"

"Of course," Felix replied.

"You're the Queen, aren't you?" Piers remembered Moana's dying words. "Then I suppose we should deal with you next."

"No!" Linza rushed towards the Adepts. They immediately assumed defensive stances but she stopped just a few feet away. "Queen Synthabel, flee! I'll deal with them!" She crouched over and started to pulse bright white.

"Linza…" Synthabel shook. "You can't… fine… I understand." She bowed her head and floated into the air, flying away at a high speed.

"Huh?" Ivan's mouth dropped. If the Queen had been told to flee, shouldn't he flee too?

"What's she doing?" Jenna asked.

"She's flickering… kind of like she's going to… explode!" Sheba yelled.

Ivan let out a surprised cry as Hama flung herself upon him, right before Linza sensationally exploded. The force took out the nearest buildings and encompassed the Adepts, striking them down with its immense power.

And then there was just silence, rubble and clouds of dust. A glimmer of sparkles shone through the dust clouds, the last vestige of the elf who sacrificed herself and took the Adepts down with her.


	8. A Change of Heart

**Awakening**

* * *

Mwehehehe…maybe we shall find out who lives and who dies! I hate killing off actually.

* * *

_Chapter Eight: A Change of Heart_

* * *

Ivan mumbled groggily as he slowly awoke from unconsciousness. There was a mass of purple hair in his face and somebody was lying on top of him. Ivan craned his neck sideways and shivered at the sight of blood. He quickly slithered out from underneath the unconscious person and immediately realized that it was Hama. She had leaped on him to protect him from the explosion and now there was a gaping wound in her back.

Ivan shakily got to his feet and looked around. Two buildings had collapsed and another one had a huge hole in one wall. There was rubble everywhere and blood. So much blood. He felt a stab of pain as he saw all the bodies on the ground, and he recognized all of them.

"Oh no…" Ivan walked precariously through the carnage, dismayed by the sight of the bloodied, twisted bodies. He couldn't even tell if they were alive. Kalay was so still and quiet, it was like a ghost town. The explosion hadn't taken up the whole city. Maybe people were still wondering what the noise had been, maybe they didn't dare come to look…

A horn trumpeted in the distance. Ivan looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun, and froze as he saw horses galloping to Kalay. Lots of horses, with soldiers riding on them. Tolbi! Tolbi was actually going to attack defenseless Kalay so soon!

"No!" Ivan ran furiously towards the edge of the town and stepped into the field, prepared to defend the town. Kalay wasn't ready. He couldn't let the town be bathed in blood, innocent people slaughtered, Hammet… no.

"Stop!" Ivan shouted as the horses advanced on him. They did not. "Okay, fine, if you want to play it that way…" Lightning crashed from the sky as Ivan prepared to unleash the wrath of his Alchemy-enhanced Jupiter powers.

"_**HURRICANE STORM!"**_

Gigantic whirlwinds whipped through the sky, howling as they tore the trees from the ground. Lightning crashed from the sky, striking down those who weren't picked up by the hurricane winds and flung to their deaths. Small fires exploded, before dying down again. Wind sliced through flesh, pounded them into the ground, and the lightning reduced them to ashes.

When the storm died down, there were very few people left standing.

"Well?" Ivan's eyes flashed dangerously. His head was beginning to hurt, but he ignored it. "Back off, get back to Tolbi, and tell them not to attack Kalay ever again! I swear to this, Kalay will not attack Tolbi, so long as you stay away!"

"But we were told Kalay has declared war…" A soldier said weakly.

"You were misinformed," Ivan said coldly. "There is no war. Get back to Tolbi and tell them there never was a war. Tell them how one person struck more than half your troop down with little effort. Go, before I make you!"

"Argh!" Another soldier screamed. "Get away!"

The remaining soldiers fled back to Tolbi, terrified for their lives.

"Ahh…" Ivan clutched his head, which was beginning to throb like crazy. Had he overused his power? Was it hurting him? "W… WISE ONE!" He screamed as he sank to his knees. Dots were swarming in front of his eyes and he was getting dizzy.

The Wise One appeared just above Ivan and flashed, teleporting away with Ivan.

Ivan barely had time to register that he was now back in the secret cave, with a sobbing Synthabel sitting in front of him, before he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Linza, Luchan, Phoenix, Golem, Moana and Raiden," Synthabel shook her head. "Out of all my precious elves, I was closest to those six. And those damn Adepts killed five of them. Linza sacrificed herself for them. I am now alone. I am the last elf. I swear to this, I am going to destroy the humans with my bare hands," She stared at Ivan and cocked her head. "Is the brat still alive?"

"Yes," The Wise One looked down at the unconscious boy. "He has used up too much power at once and it has concussed him. His life form is faint, but visible."

"Well, so long as he still has Alchemy," Synthabel sniffed. "We will wait for him to wake up, and then all three of us are going to go out and attack another village. And I have the perfect village in mind." She smiled evilly.

The Wise One did not say anything, he just continued to look at Ivan. He felt something when looking at the traumatized, unconscious Adept. It was pity.

It was a day and a half before Ivan regained consciousness. He still felt weak, and he was hungry. Ivan sat up, wearily shaking his head and looking around. He had no idea where he was for a moment. The Wise One was hovering in a corner of the room. The rock turned its eye towards him and Ivan suddenly remembered everything.

The explosion…

Hama protecting him…

Blood…

Saving Kalay…

Pain…

"What's going to happen, Wise One?" Ivan asked groggily. "Now that all the elves are dead… except Synthabel…"

"She has something up her sleeve," The Wise One moved closer to Ivan. "Now that you are awake, we must go. The Queen is waiting."

"Okay," Ivan stood up shakily. "I'm… ready."

The Wise One and Ivan disappeared out of the cave, and re-appeared in front of Vale. Synthabel was there, waiting with a cruel smile on her face.

"Vale is my target now," Synthabel chuckled. "The Valeans are all doomed."


	9. The Last Elf

Awakening

* * *

Okay, so I'm up to one more chapter than predicted… rest assured, this is the last chapter.

* * *

_Chapter Nine: The Last Elf_

* * *

"Uh…" Isaac shifted, his eyes fluttering open weakly. He stared up at a plain white ceiling, wondering where he was for a moment. Somebody entered the room and he sharply turned his head, seeing a young girl walk in, wearing a typical servant outfit.

"Oh, thank goodness," The girl smiled. "You're awake."

"Where am I?" Isaac asked faintly.

"The palace in Kalay," The girl answered. "There was some kind of explosion. Some people found you and your friends lying on the ground among the rubble and brought you here."

"The explosion," Isaac sat up sharply, wincing as he felt an ache in his back. "Is everybody else okay?"

The girl opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off as a blue-haired girl bounded into the room, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"Isaac! You've awoken!" Mia exclaimed, rushing over to the bed and wrapping her arms around him tightly. "Thank goodness! I was worried about you."

"How long have I been out?" Isaac asked concernedly.

"A day and a half," Mia answered. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah," Isaac pushed back the bedcover and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Mia sat down next to him. "That elf girl… she ran up and kind of exploded. I remember Sheba screaming that she was going to explode. That Elf Queen flew away before she did, so that means there's still one Elf left. The world is still in danger!"

"I just hope no damage has been done already," Mia frowned. "Kalay is safe, thank goodness. It's strange. A passerby told us that he had actually seen Ivan send Tolbi's troops fleeing."

"Ivan?" Isaac's eyes widened. "I wonder… so Ivan is okay. How about everybody else?"

"You were the last one to wake up," Mia brushed back a strand of blue hair. "Everybody else is okay. There weren't any injuries I couldn't heal."

"Thank goodness," Isaac felt a wave of relief rushing through him. "In an explosion that serious, I thought we were done for."

"It's a good thing we were found and tended to quickly," Mia bit her lip. "I'm sure that if we'd just been left there, some of us could have died."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that explosion wasn't meant to just send us flying a little bit," Isaac laughed dryly. "I'm glad you're okay too."

"Of course," Mia smiled. "Well, now that you're awake, we should go and meet everybody else. Do you feel okay?"

Isaac got to his feet and walked steadily across the room, before turning around and nodding. "I feel fine. Let's go." He left the room with Mia and they found everybody else conferring in the ground floor of the palace.

"Hey, you're awake," Garet smiled. "You sure slept a long time, Isaac."

"Believe me, I would have woken up sooner if I was capable of doing so," Isaac smiled back.

"I hope Ivan really is okay," Hama fiddled with her plait. "Somebody said he chased Tolbi away, but he may still have been injured, even if I shielded him from the blow."

"I should have seen it coming sooner," Sheba said guiltily. "Then we would have had time to run away."

"We may still have been hit," Piers shook his head. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Sheba."

"Why are we standing here and talking?" Jenna said crankily. "We should find that elf queen and kick her butt."

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Felix muttered sarcastically.

"I heard that!" Jenna shouted.

"Whoah, time out," Isaac gulped. "Any idea where we're going next?"

"How about Vale?" Sheba suggested.

"If the Elf Queen is as mad at us as I think she is," Alex speculated. "Then she'll want to strike somewhere to get her own back, and where better than an Adept settlement?"

"And we were all hanging around Vale," Isaac looked pensive. "Not to mention that some of us live there as well."

"Then we should go to Vale and make sure it's okay," Mia said urgently. "She's had a day and a half to do something."

"Oh no," Jenna gasped. "Not after we rebuilt it and everything…"

"Worrying about it will only waste time," Hama cut her off.

"Then let's go!" Felix exclaimed. "Is everybody ready?"

"Definitely," Sheba clenched her fist.

"Need you ask?" Piers smiled.

"… I'll take that as a yes," Felix headed towards the exit. "We'd better hurry."

"Kalay was hit quite badly," Mia warned Isaac as they left the palace. "So be prepared for what you might see."

"… Yikes," Isaac said in dismay as they approached the part of the city that had been hit. Buildings had been torn down, and there was rubble littering the streets. "I'm amazed that we all survived that explosion."

"Not everybody survived it apparently," Garet told him. "A few people living here were killed, usually the ones inside the buildings."

"Oh…" Isaac sighed. "Still, at least Kalay is okay. If Tolbi had attacked, it would have been as good as murder, butchery."

The group exited the city and vanished in a swirl of Psynergetic lights, which headed towards Vale.

* * *

"What do you intend to do now, Queen Synthabel?" Ivan asked curiously, as the Elf Queen sneered at the unsuspecting village.

"Well, I need great power," Queen Synthabel smiled. "When Vale is destroyed, I will have to proceed to attack every settlement around Weyard and destroy them. I am the only Elf left, and I will make sure that my friends do not go unavenged."

"Great power?" Ivan echoed. He swore that he could hear a sound in the distance, that reminded him of teleportation, but he wasn't sure.

"Like… the power of Alchemy," Synthabel grabbed Ivan's arm. "I will have it! Wise One, transfer the power to me!"

"As you wish," The Wise One flashed and the golden light sprung up around Ivan and traveled along his arm, being absorbed into Synthabel. Cries of shock rose into the air from nearby, and Ivan almost cried in shock himself. He was too taken aback to turn around and see who it was.

"Now that I have Alchemy," Synthabel chuckled, releasing the horrified Jupiter Adept. "I no longer have need of you."

"Huh?" Ivan swayed on his feet, wondering what was going on. He felt like a huge burden had been removed, but he couldn't quite remember what it was. He didn't get any time to recover before the strange winged being in front of him drove a ball of plasma into his chest and sent him flying. Ivan screamed as he sailed into the air before striking the ground. Now he remembered… the Elves… destruction…

"Ugh…" Ivan rolled over, his chest searing in agony. "Oh no…"

"Ivan! Hold on!"

Mia was next to him, rolling him onto his back. She held her hands out above him and whispered. "Pure Ply." Her hands glowed with a blue light and Ivan saw a little fairy flying above him, sprinkling light onto him. The pain subsided and the chest wound closed up.

"What's happening?" Ivan sat up. "It's a blur… I remember hurting people and…"

"It's okay," Mia patted his shoulder. "You were under the influence of Alchemy…"

"We've got you now!" Isaac pointed his Fire Brand at Synthabel.

"Foolish boy!" Synthabel chuckled. "I have Alchemy. What can you do against me?"

"We're not going to let you destroy Vale!" Felix brandished the Sol Blade.

"You are already too late," Synthabel smiled cruelly. "Wise One. Destroy Vale."

"What? That's horrible!" Garet exclaimed.

"Don't do it, Wise One! You're supposed to protect Vale!" Jenna hollered as the floating rock turned his eye towards the village.

"What are you waiting for?" Synthabel put a hand on her hip as she stared up at the Wise One. "Hurry up and destroy that pathetic village!"

"I… I cannot," The Wise One closed his eye.

"Then I will do it instead-"

Before Synthabel could take any action, a shining blue barrier appeared around the village.

"What is this?" Synthabel snarled. She leaped forwards and struck the barrier, but it sent her flying backwards. "Impossible! I am now the most powerful being on Weyard! How can this barrier stop me?" She flung a bolt of lightning at the barrier but it dissipated. "Well… even if I cannot destroy Vale, I can destroy you, Adepts!" She turned to face the group, laughing menacingly.

"You actually want to destroy us? I never saw that coming," Alex said in a deadpan voice.

"Witty, huh?" Synthabel formed a large fireball in her hands and flung it at the Mercury Adept, who calmly doused it in mid air. Steam rose up into the air and vanished.

"Dim-witted, huh?" Alex lowered his hand. "I think you have something of mine."

"And mine!" Isaac charged forwards. "I don't care how powerful that you think you are, but you're not getting away wi- ugh!"

Isaac grunted in pain as a volley of sharp rocks met with his belly and sent him flying onto his back a few feet away. He slowly levered himself up, casting Cure on the wound before it could get infected.

"Stone Spire!" Felix called out.

Synthabel looked up and simply shattered the falling cones of rock with sharp wind blades before they could even hit her. The rubble landed neatly around her and she chuckled. "Nice party trick!" Synthabel spat, flinging a ball of plasma at Felix and knocking him off his feet.

"Hey, that wasn't fair!" Jenna exclaimed. "Dragon Fume!"

"Pyroclasm!" Garet shouted, joining Jenna in casting fire Psynergy.

"I barely feel this fire at all," Synthabel said coldly, as the flames licked around her. "Feel the chill of ice!" She cried, raising a hand. Jenna and Garet immediately found themselves imprisoned in ice up to their necks.

"I can't move!" Garet complained. "And it's so c-c-cold!"

"This isn't working," said Piers desperately.

"I'm not giving up!" Sheba ran towards the Elf Queen. "Spark Pla-aaaah!" She was cut off quickly as a few large rocks landed on top of her, knocking her flat to the ground.

"You play dirty!" Mia exclaimed.

"Intercepting a warrior before they get the chance to strike is hardly foul play," Synthabel swiped her hand through the air. Mia gasped as she felt forceful gusts of air strike her, knocking the wind out of her. One stray breeze even cut her cheek. "Just call it convenience."

"SPARK PLASMA!"

Synthabel sniffed in contempt as the lightning bolts rained harmlessly on her, and turned her malevolent gaze towards Ivan.

"That was for the people of Vault, and those in Kalay who were hurt by that explosion," Ivan gritted his teeth. "You used me as a tool for your petty revenge against humankind and we're going to make sure you go down before any more humans get hurt!"

"You put my little brother's life at risk and used him as a killing machine," Hama stepped forwards. "And I don't appreciate that at all. Destruct Ray!"

"Give me a break…" Synthabel growled.

"Psynergy isn't working!" Piers said in frustration.

"How observant of you, Lemurian," Synthabel pointed a finger at him. Several orbs of pulsing shadow flew out and struck Piers rapidly in succession, causing him to fall to the ground, coughing up blood. "The shadow poisons you and forces your body to react by getting it out no matter what. The more poison you have, the more likely you are to die."

"Nobody is going to die today," Isaac marched towards her. "Except you."

"Oh shut up," Synthabel whirled towards the Venus Adept, her hand morphing into a vine which shot towards Isaac and penetrated his torso. Isaac gasped in pain, fully aware that a vine had just gone right through him and was even sticking out of his back.

"Isaac!" Mia cried out in horror.

The Wise One started flashing with Psynergy and a golden light trailed along the vine, stopping when it came to Isaac. The golden light enveloped him and the vine withered away, falling out of Isaac. Synthabel drew the remnant away and morphed it back into a hand. Isaac fell to his knees, staring at his deep body wound, his eyes widening as it closed up and the golden light faded away. He felt old power returning to him.

"The Wise One's returned Alchemy to Isaac?" Hama realized what was going on.

"Not all of it," Isaac sighed in relief. "Just what I originally had."

"No!" Synthabel snarled. "Well, I am still powerful! As punishment upon you for taking my power, I shall kill the girl you love!" She flew into the air and darted at Mia, her eyes blazing with fire. Mia hurriedly flung an Ice Missile attack directly into Synthabel's eyes, causing her to flutter around blindly. Just as her feet touched the floor, a sword pierced her back.

"I'll take back what's mine now," Alex held the hilt of the sword. He welcomed the golden light that flowed from Synthabel, along the sword and into him, and his returning power.

"This… this isn't how it should have happened," Synthabel cursed as the sword was withdrawn. She fell to her knees, looking sorrowfully at her wound. "We were blinded by rage and the lust for revenge. Because of that… elvenkind is no more. Curse you all!"

"She just has to go out with a bang," Jenna sniffed contemptuously, brushing ice shards off her clothes.

"Curse… humans…" Synthabel fell forwards, her eyes closing. A swirl of sparkles surrounded her disappearing body and spiraled into the air, disappearing from view.

"And that is the end of elves," Felix stood up. "I never would have guessed they existed before, and now they really don't."

"How about we don't tell Kraden about this?" Piers tilted his head, thinking of the scholar's reaction when he learned they had finished off an entire race lost from the world.

"Isaac, are you okay?" Mia hurried over to Isaac.

"I'm fine, Mia," Isaac smiled. "Are you?"

"Yeah," Mia smiled back.

"Everybody," The Wise One suddenly spoke. "I am sorry for what has happened."

"Yeah, me too," Ivan looked down at his feet.

"This must be especially hard for Ivan," The Wise One looked at the Jupiter Adept, blinking his bright blue eye. "He has to carry the burden of knowing that he has killed people. However, it was not of his own will. That should be a small comfort."

"I wish I could go back, bring the people of Vault back to life, and say that I'm so sorry," A tear rolled down Ivan's cheek. "But I can't. They are dead, killed by my own hands. Sure, we caused the deaths of Saturos, Menardi, Agatio and Karst. Isaac and Jenna's parents could have died because of us on the Mars Lighthouse. But this… it was me alone. I alone have to deal with this. It hurts. I can't share the pain of killing the people of Vault."

"But you saved Kalay," Sheba walked up to him and put an arm around his shoulders. "You chased away Tolbi's troops, you saved a city that had no time to prevent for war. Even if you were still influenced, you did it."

"I should be partially to blame for it," The Wise One said. "The Elves used me to use the power of Alchemy to corrupt Ivan's mind. So it is as much as my fault as it is Ivan's."

"It's not your fault or Ivan's," Garet protested. "It was the Elves' fault. So why bother feeling so guilty about it?"

"Let us go into Vale and rest," Hama suggested. "We are all very tired from the past couple of days, and Ivan has a lot to deal with at the moment."

"Yes, that's a good idea," Felix agreed.

"Let's go then," Mia took Isaac's hand and they walked into the village together. "You haven't eaten in ages, Isaac. You must be hungry."

"Hey, I'm hungry too," Ivan realized, as his stomach rumbled. "I haven't eaten since… before… the elf got me…"

"Come on then," Sheba pulled him towards Vale.

"It's tragic to think that a long lost race came back to Weyard's surface," Hama looked pensive as the group walked into the village. "Only wanting to get rid of humans. Who knows what other races will return? Will they be friendly or hostile? Only time will tell."


End file.
